Christopher Mark Jones & The Roots Ensemble @ VOMA

A summer return to Johnstown, PA with the Roots Ensemble for a show at the Venue for Merging Arts (VOMA). This will be a full-band show, with two sets of songs selected from Christopher’s eight albums of original material. VOMA is a non-profit arts center that regularly books roots music artists for their well-equipped performance space. The venue is BYOB w/ food offerings. Christopher Mark Jones sings soulful country and blues-inflected Americana narratives in “a rich voice that’s slightly rough around the edges” (Scott Mervis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), but still grabs the listener along with his “fascinating lyrics” (Melody Maker, UK) and the “intricate guitar-playing” and “wide-ranging textures and exquisite instrumentation” (Larry Berger, Saturday Light Brigade) of his recordings. Listeners hear echoes of “Greg Brown's pacing and a Lyle Lovett attitude” (Ben Shannon), as well as of John Prine, Bruce Coburn and Darrell Scott. Between careers as a basketball player and French professor, Jones busked in Paris, toured the UK, Denmark, and Holland, and played New England clubs. He now tours solo from Pittsburgh, PA, and plays regionally in formats varying from solo to full band. Looking for the Light (2021) is his sixth recording of original folk/roots songs, while Montréal Encore (2022) is a French-language recording created in collaboration with the poet Bernard Pozier.